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Outbreak Breakdown: Mumps and More

Columbus Public Health officials were just as surprised as the rest of the city when an outbreak of mumps—an uncommon vaccinal disease today—hit Ohio State’s campus this February. But this is hardly the first time the city has faced an outbreak. Nearly every major disease that’s touched North America in the last two centuries has, at one time or another, affected Columbus. “It was just a surprise [with mumps] because we don’t see that many cases a year,” says Jose Rodriguez, director of public affairs for Columbus Public Health. “But if we learn anything, it’s that disease knows no boundaries.”